Quick and Easy Dr. McDougall Program Dinner Meal Ideas

Eating a whole foods plant based diet doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming. It can be very cheap, quick and satisfying, but you need to be able to design a meal that will at least give you enough calories and be enjoyable to eat to succeed in the long term.

Dr. John McDougall has come out with a new book in 2012 called The Starch Solution: Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose the Weight for Good! and he talks about why starch is the best food to base a healthy plant based diet on. Cultures all over the world are thriving on a predominantly plant based high starch diet, whether in the form of potatoes, white rice, pasta, or corn (maize, not yellow sweet corn), supplemented with green and yellow vegetables and some fresh fruits.

Starch is a complex carbohydrate, so it is a slower releasing carbohydrate compared to fruit. When you eat starches they take longer to digest and so you get some energy right away and some later. This is why a meal including mashed potatoes or pasta can be so satisfying and keep you full for a long time. If you get the majority of your energy from whole food starches you will find it very easy to lose or maintain your ideal weight.

In fact there was even a man named Chris Voigt who ate 20 potatoes a day for 60 days and lost 23 lbs! He also significantly reduced his cholesterol and his triglycerides eating white potatoes 3 times a day!

So white potatoes are not “bad” for you like many carb phobic health gurus claim. What is unhealthy is all the butter, sour cream, cheese and bacon that people load up onto a giant jacket potato and eat ON TOP of a large piece of fatty meat and a side that has more cream or cheese in it. Often it’s just too many calories from rich animal foods. The white potato itself is not making you fat, it’s too many rich foods and too many nutrient poor calories on top of the potato.

Sure there are other starches that are higher in nutrients than a white potato, like sweet potatoes or yams, but the point is the white potato is not going to harm your health or make you fat, just the opposite in fact. Including some healthy high carb low fat foods into your daily meals will help keep you full and your waistline trim. The key is to eat smart and keep it simple!

One of my basic McDougall meals is a large baked jacket potato topped with either my oil-free hummus or salsa, and an ear or two of sweet corn and a green like steamed broccoli, kale, collards, Brussels sprouts etc.

When you think about how simple and inexpensive this meal is even compared to a fast food meal you’ll realize it’s not that hard to do and is quite easy on the pocketbook too. A potato might cost 20-50 cents depending on how many you buy, an ear of corn could be 75 cents to a dollar and a small head of broccoli can be a dollar or two and even less if you’re using frozen vegetables. So you have a meal that could cost you around $2 for a plate, more if you increase the amount of vegetables or choose organic, but even still it’s much cheaper and better for you than a $3.99 value meal at McDonalds. This is a very basic example, but there are many McDougall recipes that are quite inexpensive to make. Check out my Low Fat Vegan Comfort Soups Recipe eBook for some more great ideas.

Often people think a healthy diet is:

#1. Bland and boring

#2. Expensive

#3. Time consuming

#4. Not practical

Well we can start off by fixing the bland and boring part by choosing different combinations of healthy inexpensive foods to build a meal out of. Then you can spice it up with some zesty seasonings or low fat condiments (it’s even better to make your own) and then it will be more palatable and exciting to eat. Just because we take the cheese and bacon out of potatoes and salads for a healthy vegan diet doesn’t mean that you have to eat them plain and lament about it. When you take something that is a typical standard food item and switch it for a vegan version, don’t just take take take and be left with plain lettuce or a plain bun. There’s a plethora of fresh, cooked, pickled and fermented goodies you can use for toppings in place of cheese, meat, mayo, and creamy dressings.

Eating a low fat plant based or vegan diet can be expensive or inexpensive. It really depends on where you shop, what you buy and if you buy in small quantities or in bulk. To make this diet cheaper, it’s better to buy some things in bulk like potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, whole grains etc. because the price per serving is greatly reduced. You can shop at places like Costco, or even organic wholesale distributors and get seasonal vegetables and fruit in bulk for a discount. Also don’t forget you can buy frozen vegetables and fruit to keep around for a quick meal. Check for sales in local flyers, or check them online before you head to the grocery store.

I have to say that eating simple McDougall based meals is NOT time consuming at all. For a starch I can throw a few potatoes in the oven at 400 F/205 C for an hour or put some rice in my rice cooker and my main source of calories is taken care of. Then I can just steam or boil any accompanying vegetables if desired. Or you can make a big vegetable stew or soup in a slow cooker, or cook your own beans and lentils in a pressure cooker if you’re looking for a quicker turnaround time. Really the most important thing to being able to put meals together quickly is to have a stocked refrigerator and pantry with healthy whole foods that you can put together into a complete meal. (It also helps if you make foods you enjoy as well as trying new ones.)

When you’re eating out, or making meals for family and friends you may think that eating a low fat plant based diet isn’t practical or very attractive and it depends on your outlook and how you execute it. If your family or friends are on board with your healthy lifestyle that’s great, and if they aren’t there’s still a good chance they can eat most of what you’re making for yourself anyway for their meal as well. They can choose to have some meat or dairy on the side if they insist and still join you.

When you’re eating out, it’s best to check out restaurant menus in advance (or online) and see if there’s anything that can be modified to work for you. If you can’t or if you have any doubts CALL THE RESTAURANT and talk to the chef or sous chef during the day before the dinner rush. They will not be upset, they will try to please you and will often get excited about the challenge of coming up with an oil free/low fat vegan option using their own creative skills. It’s best not to ask a hostess or server as they really don’t know what ingredients chef’s have to work with in the kitchen and they’re likely to be less creative, ie. bringing out a salad with just the chicken and cheese removed and nothing else on to substitute it with. Depending where you live the wait staff will know more or less about dietary restrictions and allergies as well. When I have friends or family members with dietary restrictions, I go out of my way to make something for all of us that they can have and generally any good chef will accommodate you.

Here are some ideas for building a healthy and satisfying starch based McDougall plate at home. I would suggest choosing 3-5 items from the list below:

Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Gravy from Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World

And what about fruits? Make sure you get a few servings of fruit a day into your diet. This can be in the form of a smoothie, (which I have TONS of fruit smoothie and green smoothie recipes on here) a snack or a fruit dessert. There are literally hundreds of fruits to choose from.

To keep things fairly inexpensive and hassle free you can eat basic meals like rice or potatoes with some beans, tofu or tempeh, and a salad or steamed or sautéed veggies. There are so many different combinations and you can eat whatever is in season. Then to add some variety you can make things like a vegetable stew, a vegan soup, veggie tacos with rice, lentil curry and rice, noodles with sautéed veggies etc. a few times a week. They key is to find some healthy foods and meals that you really enjoy eating and it doesn’t feel like a chore or you are depriving yourself. It always helps to have some tasty homemade or store bought low fat condiments to add some flavour as well.

There are so many ideas out there to add a little flavour and excitement to a low fat plant based diet. Even if you’re only eating this way when you’re at home you will notice some health benefits and feel satisfied with these whole food comfort foods.

Have you ever read one of Dr. McDougall’s books or tried The McDougall Program?

I read Dr. McDougall’s Maximum Weight Loss Program book. It “bans” tofu, tahini, any form of soy, nuts, seeds, avocados and basically any processed food. I find it very difficult and haven’t lost any weight! I’ve been a vegan for almost two years and slowly have put on about 8 lbs so now I’m almost 20 lbs overweight. I am truly frustrated so I thought I’d try the Max Wt. Loss Program. Now I’m more frustrated. 🙁

I think you should really give up wheat, barley, millet, etc. See if you lose weight then. I know it sounds cliche now but gluten really does make some people overweight. Myself included. Dr. Furman’s 6 week plan is very similar and reduced starches to about 1 cup once a day, 1lb of greens a day and 1lb of non-green veggies a day. Smoothies could help with this. Avocado’s to about 2 ounces I think. I think you have to feel out your body because it is resistant to something. Find your balance 🙂

I started Oct. 2014 so I am still new and struggle some. I was sick of being sluggish and overweight. Topping the scale off at 260lbs and inching into the next pant size of 22’s. I figured why not. Either way I will need new clothes if I gain wait or loose it. I am now in an 18 and some size 16. But more than that I am happy. My lil girls took me swimming at a public pool and my husband is amazed at my transformation. The diet is free and the food is cheap and healthy…..Thank you!

On a low fat diet, you can pretty much eat however much you want. Until you feel satisfied! If that’s 1400 calories or 2500 calories, it really won’t matter. Plant foods like this will NOT, I repeat NOT make you fat. EVER. I am 4 ft 10 and am around 100 pounds. I eat close to 4000 calories a day! Tons of fruit for breakfast and lunch with a huge McDougall style meal for dinner. I am not super active either… maybe a 30 minute slow walk three times a week. I’ve been eating like this for three years now, haven’t gained a pound! Lost 30 though. 😉

Don’t overeat, just eat until you feel nice and full.

If you come from a background of an eating disorder, you (of course) will gain weight while your body heals. Then it will release the weight it put on. I didn’t come from disordered eating so I lost the weight straight off.

Hi Sally! I have been eating lfhc vegan for almost a year now (11 months) and I have gained 12 pounds. I was following a high protein (very high) high fat no carb lifestyle before.
Do you think it is normal I have not lost the weight yet? I really felt better with the initial weight, and maybe there is something I should change. I eat coconut sugar with my oatmeal, maple syrop with my salads and home made bread. Maybe those three things I should avoid? Thank you for your help!

Hi Sally,
I’ve been following a low fat vegan diet for quite a time (for health reasons), but I still can’t gain some weight.
I would be grateful if you could tell me a sample menu (with serving sizes) based on your experience for eating 3000-4000 calories in a day in this low fat vegan diet (McDougall).
Thank very much

How do you know when to stop eating? How many calories are in Dr. McDougall’s daily plan? I was reading his book the starch lotion and it seemed a little vague in that area. Also I’m used to being on the zone diet by Dr. Sears and it seems as though not having the proteins would be make I think foggy (daydreamin)g in other words. It be great if you could answer some of these questions thanks

I am certified with Dr. McDougall’s starch program. The starch solution is the simplest program available. You fill your plate with starches and supplement with vegetables and fruit. Simple.

In response to your questions:

You should stop eating when you are full.
You don’t count calories.
You do not have to worry about your protein needs following this diet. Lack of carbohydrates (your energy source) would make you a little groggy for sure, just ask anyone on the Atkins diet.

The interesting thing about eating healthy is that your body will get to its perfect weight, you will feel great and you can concentrate on other things in your life that are more important.

I am 5,7 and weight 135 pounds. Used to weight 122 before, following a dukan type of diet for almost 3 years. Do you think I will go back to 122? Sometimes the idea of being 135 forever scares me a bit. How do you know when your body is on its ideal weight?
Thank you!

Dear Charley,
I have diabetes, and neuropathy in my feet. My wife is a diabetic too and she has alligator skin on her legs, which sometimes has blisters that pop. We treat them with manuka honey, per our doctor. It helps them heal, but the legs have not gotten better yet.
She cannot take drugs because she is very sensitive to the side effects. She just got out of the hospital because of a bad reaction to some drugs. She wants to eat healthy from now on.
Unfortunately, she won’t eat any spices, no garlic, or onions. She won’t eat dark green veggies, or squash, peppers or anything else. She is “Potatoes, corn and green beans type of girl. She will eat oatmeal and some fruits, but she is a very picky eater.
How would you go about fixing simple meals for her? She says that she would eat potatoes every day, but in reality she gets tired of eating the same thing day after day. Just to give you an example, she hasn’t eaten rice in over three months, but she keeps saying she doesn’t want any because she is tired of eating rice. As I said, she is picky.

Can you help me pick some ‘bland’ meals that she can eat? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. As for me, I could enjoy anything, including vegetable soup, (which she won’t touch.)

My family began Dr McDougals program in January. The results were immediate and incredible!! Weight, blood sugar, cholesterol all down almost immediately!! The food is surprisingly good and I’m having so much fun cooking. Giving up bacon was tough but when i discovered how to make mock tofu bacon i was Thrilled … BLTs are a favorite. Veronica I was really excited when i found you and your delicious recipes … It’s not easy to find the “Low Fat” vegan … Thank You!!

Thanks for the all your inspiration and great recipes, Veronica! I started the McDougall program a few weeks ago and finally, after a great many years of struggling, the weight is at last coming off effortlessly. I’ve been vegan for some time now, but realized after reading “The Starch Solution” and also “The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss”, that I was rapidly becoming an unhealthy vegan; my weight was steadily going up and those blood lipid levels weren’t looking too good! This was largely due to way too much Becel Vegan margarine on my vegetables (it really tastes so much like butter :)) olive oil, nut butters, and the Gardein range of products, all of which my husband enjoys. So although I can’t plead ignorance concerning too much fat, the slide to being unhealthy wasn’t entirely my fault! I’m still finding it difficult to creatively cook for two, as my husband is not impressed with fat-free cooking. I will persevere, as the incentive is there, now that I see how well it works. Besides, it’s so nice to fit into smaller clothes and have fewer aches and pains. I also know those blood levels will be perfect next time I go!

Organic traditional soy products I don’t have a problem a with. Much of the propaganda is just that, The Weston Price Foundation and dairy industry making up stories about how bad soy is for everyone.

I still use products such as tofu, tempeh, miso paste and soy sauce in some of my recipes. You don’t have to use soy products on a vegan diet, but if you’re not allergic to them and have no adverse reaction to them including them occasionally shouldn’t be a problem.

I first tried the McDougall Program in 2005 and lost 35 lbs in about 3.5 months. Eating lots of delicious food I had more energy than ever, all my arthritic pains completely disappeared, I gained flexibility, my skin became free of pimples, my fibromyalgia disappeared, my digestion improved, I looked 10 years younger and felt fantastic!!!

Thanks for this website. I appreciate your practical inspiration. about 20 years ago(!) we bought McDougalls books and ate veggie for about 3 years, because my husband had open heart surgery. I am trying to get back to an (almost) veggie diet.

I live in Jakarta, Indonesia where the main staple of food is (white) rice. The sad thing is that people blame it for their weight gain (“Rice makes you fat!”). So a lot of my friends who want to lose weight is afraid to eat rice, and they’ll eat anything else (potatoes – which is okay if they’re not fried, noodles, vermicellis, pasta, bread, yoghurt, or even beef, chicken or fish) but rice. I lose 25kg = 55 pounds in 6 monts by avoiding oil, eating fruit & vegs, and (of course, my fav) rice. At the beginning I went on strict raw food diet, but then subsequently following the low fat vegan diet. Dr. McDougall’s diet should be very easy for Indonesian, as we eat rice everyday, just remove the oil and meat products. My friends don’t believe me when I said I can eat as much rice as I want (okay, maybe still within my daily calories needs, but rice is so filling you won’t likely eat too much of it). I hope someone will translate Dr. McDougall’s books to Indonesian so that people get the right idea… Or you know, maybe I should just translate it myself 😀

I’ve been eating a starch-based diet since the end of February and so far I’ve lost over 35 pounds (16 kilos) and counting! I find it so easy! My favourite meal is my baked chimichangas, which I make using baked chunks of sweet potato, fat-free refried beans, and a jar of salsa mixed together, then use it to fill tortillas, roll up and bake in the oven about 15-20 minutes until crunchy. So good! They reheat very well too, but won’t be crunchy if done in the microwave – still delicious though! I posted the basics of what I eat here, if anyone’s interested: http://tinyurl.com/ccbyoq8

I lived mcDougall style for years, loved the food, and was thin. I went raw vegan and gained so much energy that I struggle to go back to mostly cooked vegan. Is it even possible to eat a high cooked vegan diet and still have the energy the raw form gives a person?

what better time for people to be doing this than NOW? Economic times are TOUGH and gonna stay that way folks…might as well learn, get healthy, and save a ton of cash in the meantime. Thanks mucho Veronica…you’re the best!

i have been on the mcdougall program since feb. 1 ( thank you also for your great soup recipes love cabbage soup one.) here’s the crazy thing I’m 61 have ms and did it more for health reasons. i’ve lost 40 lbs so far, i went from a size 20 to a 14 and got off of diabetic pills. i still have some weight to go, but i drop a lb every few days. i’m loving what i eat. i’m never hungry . my friends are so surprised because i used to gain weight just looking at food and you know you can’t loose weight eating potatoes. LOL

Hi Dawn,
thank you for your input!
did you do anything different on the diet, did you have bread? Just made the McDougall “burgers” and I see that Chef V’s husband didn’t allow his mom any bread or other whole grain flour products except pasta…
Is the cabbage soup recipe in the New STARCH book by McD?

i eat very little bread (whole wheat) lots of potatoes, brown rice, some pasta, salads, and soups. Wendys has a potato and side salad if i am out I bring my own dressing. I love Veronica’s soup recipes and bought a pressure cooker just to make vegetable stock. the only time I have cheated it has been eating too much pineapple. I am just amazed at how this works and how good i feel. All these years of dieting who knew the things i love the most would be the answer. My dr. told my husband i’m getting younger. thank you Veronica

Hi V, and all.
Has anyone tried this for weight loss, and had success??
PLEASE , if you have, how did you do it?
I want to stay a vegan and use Dr <cD's program….
I am doing it right now, with the addition of using a bit of soy mayo with 2 fat grams a Tablespoon, but not often, and otherwise eating as he recommends, and not seeing the pounds drop…Maybe I should do the 20 potatoes a day!!!
Thank you

My friend’s mom followed a fairly strict no fat McDougall program and lost 55 lbs in 8 months. You can read about it here http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/blog/?p=2416 my mom lost 13 lbs in 60 days going mostly oil free vegan. She travels all the time so she can’t cook all of her own meals but making better choices helped her.

@Beth, I had to smile when I saw your post. Even it is a year old. I understand how you feel about being a vegan and overweight. I thought about those 20 potatoes a day also!!!!!
I have adapted a low fat vegan diet that Veronica shows us and I do feel better and this am the scale siad that I was down 10 lbs…… Right now I am just back from vacation and detoxing with a raw food regemine of fruits and veggies then going back to the low fat vegan eating.
I hope you are doing better and that the weight is coming off.

i’m not sure i would be a good fit for the mcdougall programme, as i’ve experienced some mild arthritis from eating white potatoes – though i say this while knowing that the organic new red potatoes don’t give such effects; i really try to make a ‘home run’ for raw during the summer hot months ’cause i know the winter’s coming & i’ll be back to the odd potato then. its a challenge to withstand a heat wave w/out knowing how to eat raw foods & find healthy alternatives. In a heat wave in toronto by the time the end of a day comes & you’ve been in the heat over 2 hrs you can see people slipping into severe brain fog if they don’t know how to eat local and fresh. that’s when grilled veggies are great – but people who consume huge quantities of beer, soda & beef meals – well i don’t know how you could function!! it seems like a one way track to heart disease. Each person’s metabolism is different – but i try to teach my kids healthy eating in the summer & this means raw salads with seasonal wild greens & herbs; fresh corn; carbs i do in abundance with lots of seasonal veggies, & fresh herbs, again. Basil helps you to BREATHE in the heat!! Its true you sometimes realize at 9 pm after a day of heat that you’re suddenly hungry – but considering the next day may not be much better – i’m more likely to grab a few nuts with raisins or pineapple & call it a night!!